The holiday rush means that a lot of games fall by the wayside in favor of more glitzy, big budget affairs. It's a shame, 'cause a lot of these games are developed by small studios that really don't have a sliver of the marketing might of a big house...and yet, oftentimes their games are just as good if not better! Take for example Switchball, an XBLA game developed by Atomic Elbow.
Switchball has you controlling a marble, rolling it over obstacles to reach a gyrocopter finish line. It's very much in the spirit of Marble Madness, albeit with a focus on puzzle solving rather than racing to the bottom. UGO gives Switchball an overall rating of A-.
TGH Writes:
"I’ve never been a big fan of puzzle games (No, not Tomb Raider). Traditional games like Bejeweled and, yes I’m sorry, Tetris have never really grabbed my attention for more than five minutes; but when it comes to games like Mercury (PSP) I did become interested. There’s something about being a round object and rolling around a linear puzzle course which appeals to me, whether that be the implementation of the playable object and how it interacts with its puzzles, or the variety of puzzles that can be attempted in each level. So when I heard Switchball was released on PSN I was very curious."
Zath:
I did find myself enjoying Switchball and it can get quite addictive. But of course with addiction comes frustration, so don't be surprised if you keep screaming at your TV. I suppose that's a good thing as once you've completed a level you feel like you've achieved something instead of just strolling through it all. If you like a good old puzzle game that will keep you occupied on rainy days, then I'd recommend getting Switchball.
SquareGo writes "Switchball follows in the footsteps of the great Marble Madness. Guide your ball through a variety of obstacles to reach the finish point. That game and its predecessors are loosely based on childhood toys where you sent balls through different puzzles by titling the box to control the ball movement. It's a very simple premise and it works with the virtual world allowing the game to extend "beyond the box"."
Its like Marble Madness on steroids. I'm definately getting this one, and Undertow. XBLA production/development is getting so much better.